Sabrina Gordon, Business Reporter

A model unit of the new dome-style houses to be built in Jamaica by Caribbean Tropical Igloo Homes Ltd. - Contributed

Developer Caribbean Tropical Igloo Homes Ltd. is introducing the first dome-style homes to Jamaica and is promising that the structures can withstand almost any disaster, including hurricanes and fires.

The company said it will be rolling out the first home in the residential housing development of Tripoli in Runaway Bay, adjoining Cardiff Hall in St. Ann. The unit that is being built is 65 per cent complete with an expected completion date of November.

Built throughout st ann

The unit is about 4,000 square feet and is outfitted with three bedrooms and as many bathrooms. It will serve as a model unit for the other houses that are expected to be built throughout St. Ann and the rest of the island.

The price for the model unit is about $34 million, however, this is at the upper end of the price scale as the developer is also planning to build smaller units that are expected to cost less. The average house size will be approximately 1,200 to 1,800 square feet, with an estimated base price of about $5.5 million for a three-bedroom unit.

If required, the developer also offers the option of build-on-own-lot for interested persons, at a cost of US$80,000 ($5.4 million).

"We have identified, but not purchased lots throughout St. Ann to build similar homes," said Livingston Green, director of Euton Technical and Promotional Services, the local consultants for the developers of the dome houses in Jamaica.

They are projecting to build about six units per year; however, it will not be in a concentrated area or pattern. The units will be built wherever suitable land is found, said Green.

The developer, Caribbean Tropical Igloo Homes Ltd. is a subsidiary of CARS International Ltd., a Jamaican-based corporation which acquired the exclusive franchise rights from the parent company, American Ingenuity, located in Florida, to build these houses.

While Green did not reveal the cost of constructing a unit, he emphasised that they were guaranteed to be 100 per cent hurricane proof and extremely energy efficient.

"The houses are designed to withstand the tropical weather conditions of the country," said Green.

According to him, the dome shape of the house, whose exterior is made of continuous concrete, makes it resistant to hurricanes and has been tested internationally to withstand winds in excess of 300 miles per hour.

"The houses can withstand up to a Category Six hurricane," Lloyd Jackson, director of Caribbean Tropical Igloo Homes Ltd. told Sunday Business.

The houses are also designed to be fireproof, as well as rust, rot and warp free. The components of the dome are made of cement polystyrene insulation and drywall. They are constructed with triangular panels with a series of interlocking arches.

American Ingenuity, which has over 25 years' experience in the construction of houses, has built more than 600 of these homes in the United States.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com